An elderly female pedestrian has died after being hit by a streetcar on Tuesday afternoon.

Toronto Emergency Medical Services said they received a call shortly after 4 p.m. that a woman had been hit by an eastbound streetcar.

When EMS arrived at the scene on St. Clair Avenue, near Keele Street, they found the woman had suffered a severe head injury. She was pronounced dead on scene.

The woman has not been identified.

The incident occured several metres from the intersection. Police told CTV Toronto that the woman was crossing the street mid-block when she walked into the path of the streetcar. The TTC operator tried to apply the emergency brake, but couldn't stop in time.

As police investigated, St. Clair was closed in both directions from Weston Road to Gunns Road.

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford was among those affected by the closure, and was spotted on his cellphone at the scene of the crash.